"Why?"
"Because angry people make predictable decisions."
Marcus stared at him.
Evan continued.
"They want you to chase them."
"Where?"
"Somewhere they control."
Daniel suddenly looked toward the window.
"We have company."
Headlights appeared in the distance.
Three vehicles.
Marcus grabbed the documents.
"We have to move."
They loaded the motorcycle.
Then escaped through the back road.
The chase began before sunrise.
Cars followed them through narrow country roads.
Evan rode behind Marcus.
The motorcycle roared beneath them.
A truck approached from behind.
Marcus accelerated.
Evan looked over his shoulder.
Another vehicle.
Then another.
"They're gaining!"
Marcus shouted.
"Hold on!"
The road narrowed.
A bridge appeared ahead.
Marcus slowed.
Evan noticed something.
"Stop!"
Marcus didn't hear.
"STOP!"
Marcus braked hard.
The motorcycle skidded.
Evan pointed.
A cable had been stretched across the road.
If they had continued, it would have struck them at chest height.
Marcus stared.
"They're trying to kill us."
Evan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus looked behind them.
The vehicles were approaching.
They had seconds.
"Where do we go?"
Evan pointed toward an old maintenance road.
"There!"
They turned sharply.
The motorcycle bounced over rocks.
The cars couldn't follow.
Marcus laughed.
Evan shouted:
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because your grandfather taught you well."
Evan smiled.
"Keep riding."
They disappeared into the trees.
The Five-Thousand-Dollar Wrench
They returned to Black River Customs after sunset.
The garage was empty.
The town seemed strangely quiet.
Marcus parked the motorcycle.
Evan walked inside.
He looked at the workbench.
The envelope was still there.
Five thousand dollars.
He picked it up.
Marcus watched.
"You earned it."
Evan nodded.
"I know."
"Then take it."
Evan looked at him.
"What will you do with yours?"
Marcus laughed.
"I have enough."
Evan opened the envelope.
Then he took the money out.
He counted it.
Five thousand dollars.
Exactly.
He separated the bills into two piles.
Marcus frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm taking what I need."
He placed three thousand dollars back into the envelope.
Marcus shook his head.
"Take it all."
"My mother needs a roof."
"Then take it all."
Evan smiled.
"She needs a roof."
"And?"
"My grandfather's shop needs new equipment."
Marcus looked at him.
"You want to reopen it?"
Evan nodded.
"It was his dream."
Marcus was silent for a moment.
Then he took out his wallet.
He placed another envelope beside the first.
Evan stared.
"What's that?"
"Ten thousand."
"I can't take that."
"You can."
"No."
Marcus smiled.
"You fixed my motorcycle."
"I earned five thousand."
"You saved my life twice."
Evan shook his head.
"I didn't do that."
Marcus pointed toward the motorcycle.
"You did."
Evan looked at the machine.
Then at Marcus.
"What happens now?"
Marcus's expression hardened.
"Now we take the evidence to the authorities."
"And Victor?"
Marcus looked toward the dark street.
"He'll come for us."
Evan nodded.
"Then we'll be ready."
Marcus laughed.
"You know something?"
"What?"
"You're not a mechanic anymore."
Evan frowned.
"What am I?"
Marcus picked up the old wrench from the workbench.
He held it out.
Evan took it.
"You're a problem."
Evan laughed.
"That's not a job."
"It is when you're dealing with men like Victor."
The two men stood in the garage.
The motorcycle waited beneath the lights.
The five-thousand-dollar wrench rested in Evan's hand.
It was an ordinary wrench.
Cheap.
Scratched.
Old.
Worth perhaps twenty dollars.
But it had become something more.
It represented the moment Evan had trusted his instincts.
The moment he had refused to be intimidated.
The moment a young mechanic had discovered that intelligence could stand against power.
Marcus looked at it.
"Keep it."
"Why?"
"Because someday someone is going to offer you a lot more money to look the other way."
Evan smiled.
"And?"
"Remember how much this one cost."
Evan understood.
The wrench had never been worth five thousand dollars.
The choice had been.
The Garage at Dawn
Victor was arrested three days later.
So were six other people.
The evidence recovered from Marcus's motorcycle led investigators to bank accounts in three states.
The operation was larger than anyone had imagined.
Dozens of stolen motorcycles had been transported across state lines.
Parts had been stripped, reassembled, and sold under false identities.